Marion Hofmann
DS: Marion, you are currently working at Diospi Suyana in Peru for the second time. What is your occupational background?
MH: I am a qualified industrial clerk. For 18 years I worked for a chemical company mostly in the logistics department. A while later I completed a further qualification in Membercare and am currently working on my master thesis.
DS: When was the first time you heard about Diospi Suyana?
MH: Returning from a trip to Africa in March 2010 I was speaking to the Head of HR of my former company. We got talking about other countries and their cultures when my colleague suddenly mentioned a talk he recently heard about a couple who had built up a project worth more than a million from nothing.
I knew immediately that this was either a joke or that God was working behind the scenes.
DS: From 2011 to early 2015 you worked in the hospital’s administration department. What moved you to come to Peru a second time?
MH: I loved the community feel at Diospi Suyana, but that is not the main reason that I am here. Using my skills I wanted to support and encourage the volunteer members of staff.
DS: As Membercare-commissioner you listen to others’ frustrations and annoyances. Does the negativity you hear affect you?
MH: At times, yes. Recently I had a conversation that touched me deeply. I then prayed and gave this burden over to God. And it worked, I felt free and relieved.
DS: You have no easy job. Furthermore, you are financed solely by donations. Would you earn more, if you worked in Germany?
MH: Yes, I would earn six times as much, if I worked in the private sector.
DS: And what do you relatives say to that?
MH: Most of my family and friends support and praise me for my work in Peru irrespective of their ideology. For Non-Christians it looks like an adventure or a special time-out away from the western rat-race, while Christians understand that it is a special calling from God.
DS: You speak about God. Have you ever experienced him personally in your own life?
MH: Why, definitely. For example back in January 2010 I was going through a phase of personal upheaval. I had a secure job and enjoyed good relationships with my colleagues, but I asked myself whether a certain challenge was waiting for me in the near future.
One day I read Psalm 32 in the Bible. In verse 8 I came across the words that God will show me the way I should go. Immediately I knew that something new was coming my way soon. This inner security was no figment of my imagination. The happenings of the year 2010 prove that God was preparing me mentally.
DS: Coming back to your Head of HR. What happened between your chat with him and you arriving at Diospi Suyana Peru?
MH: He gave me a film about Diospi Suyana. I was totally gripped while watching the 32 minute documentary. The video made it crystal clear that God still actively intervenes in the world: both 2000 years ago and also here in 2019. He is the God of the Bible in whom I trust.
DS: Marion you are firmly convinced about your faith in Christ. Speaking hypothetically: if you were not a Christian what would you then be? Perhaps a Buddhist?
MH: In my faith in God I find forgiveness, meaning for my life and hope. Nowhere else do I find an alternative. Perhaps I would be a kind of Humanist, but then it would be very hard for me to find a true meaning in life.
DS: If someone was considering working at Diospi Suyana what bit of advice would you give him/her?
MH: One should be sure that God is really leading you this way. Irrespective of what you do, you will encounter difficulties. Without the certainty that God is leading you in a specific direction you run the danger that your enthusiasm and energy will quickly come to a dead end.
DS: Thank you for this interview.
